Digital Media Law Project
Published on Digital Media Law Project (https://www.dmlp.org)

Home > South Carolina v. Craigslist

South Carolina v. Craigslist [1]

Submitted by DMLP Staff on Tue, 05/05/2009 - 17:26

Summary

Threat Type: 

Criminal Investigation

Date: 

05/05/2009

Status: 

Pending

Location: 

California

Verdict or Settlement Amount: 

N/A

Legal Claims: 

Obscenity
Other
On May 5, 2009, South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster sent a letter to craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster threatening company management with "criminal investigation and prosecution" over the website's erotic services section, as well as... read full description
Parties

Party Receiving Legal Threat: 

Craigslist, Inc.

Type of Party: 

Government

Type of Party: 

Organization

Location of Party: 

  • South Carolina

Location of Party: 

  • California
  • Delaware

Legal Counsel: 

Henry McMaster (Attorney General)
Description

On May 5, 2009, South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster sent a letter [2] to craigslist [3] CEO Jim Buckmaster [4] threatening company management with "criminal investigation and prosecution" over the website's erotic services section, as well as "the unrestricted manner in which graphic pornographic pictures are posted and displayed by users on the craigslist site and their accessibility to minors."  The letter demanded that craigslist permanently remove those portions of the site "containing categories for and functions allowing for the solicitation of prostitution and the dissemination and posting of graphic pornographic material" by May 15, 2009. 

Buckmaster posted a response [5] on the craigslist blog [6], stating that, while the company looks forward to speaking with Mr. McMaster about his concerns, it "see[s] no legal basis whatsoever for filing a lawsuit against craigslist or its principals and hope[s] that the Attorney General will realize this upon further reflection." 

Update:

5/12/2009 - After conferring with other state AGs, craigslist voluntarily dropped its "erotic services" section and said it would replace it with a new "adult services" category that will be manually reviewed by Craigslist staff.

5/15/2009 - South Carolina AG McMaster announced [7] that he had "no alternative but to move forward with criminal investigation and potential prosecution" because the website "continues to display advertisements for prostitution and graphic pornographic material."

5/20/09 - Craigslist filed a lawsuit against McMaster in South Carolina federal court, seeking a declaration that its conduct is lawful and an injunction prohibiting McMaster from making further threats of prosecution and pursuing any such prosecution.

5/22/09- McMaster agreed to entry of a temporary restraining order pending a ruling on the merits of craigslist's claims.  He will refrain from "initiating or pursuing any prosecution against craigslist or its officers and employees in relation to content posted by third parties on craigslist's website."

Related Links: 

  • Daily Kos: SC AG Threatens Craigsist Suit for "Prostitution", "Graphic Pornographic Material" [8]
  • WECT TV6: SC AG threatens Craigslist with prosecution [9]
  • ABC News: Craigslist Threatened With Criminal Investigation [9]
  • craigslist blog: SC AG McMaster [5]
  • craigslist blog: AG Meeting in NYC [10]
  • EFF: AGs v. Craigslist: Putting the Bully Back Into Bully Pulpit [11]
  • Press Release: Connecticut Attorney General, Other State AGs Meet With Craigslist, Urge Closure of Online Brothel [12]
  • CNET: Craigslist becomes political pinata [13]
  • Press Release: Attorney General Demands Craigslist Curb Apparent Prostitution Ads [14]
  • Press Release: CT Attorney General, 39 Other States Announce Agreement with Craigslist, NCMEC to Crack Down To Crack Down On Erotic Services Ad Content [15]
  • CNET: So. Carolina eyes 'criminal investigation' of craigslist [16]
  • craigslist blog: CL Sues SC AG for Declaratory Relief [17]
  • TechCrunch: Craigslist Sues South Carolina Attorney General McMaster; Asks for Restraining Order [18]
  • TechCrunch: South Carolina Declares Victory, Runs Away [19]
  • Wired/Threat Level: Sued by Craigslist, South Carolina's Top Cop Declares Victory and Goes Home [20]
  • CMLP: South Carolina Attorney General Threatens Craigslist With Criminal Prosecution Over User Content [21]
  • CMLP: Craigslist Dropping 'Erotic Services' Section, No Word On Whether State AGs Will Drop Their Bullhorns [22]
  • CMLP: Craigslist Sues South Carolina AG Over Threats of Criminal Prosecution [23]
Details

Web Site(s) Involved: 

craigslist [3]

Content Type: 

  • Photo
  • Text

Publication Medium: 

Forum

Subject Area: 

  • Third-Party Content
  • Section 230
  • Obscenity
Court Information & Documents

Jurisdiction: 

  • California

Source of Law: 

  • South Carolina

Court Name: 

United States District Court for the District of South Carolina

Case Number: 

2:09-cv-01308

Relevant Documents: 

PDF icon 2009-05-05-South Carolina AG Letter.pdf [24]
PDF icon 2008-11-00-Craigslist AG Agreement.pdf [25]
PDF icon 2009-05-20-Craigslist Complaint for Declaratory Relief.pdf [26]
PDF icon 2009-05-20-Craigslist Exhibits A-M.pdf [27]
PDF icon 2009-05-20-Craigslist Motion for TRO and PI.pdf [28]
PDF icon 2009-05-20-Declaration of E. Bart Daniel in Support of craigslist Motion for TRO.pdf [29]
PDF icon 2009-05-20-DEclaration of Jim Buckmaster.pdf [30]
PDF icon 2009-05-20-Declaration of Joseph P. Griffith, Jr. in Support of craigslist Motion for TRO.pdf [31]
PDF icon 2009-05-22-Consent TRO in Craigslist v. McMaster.pdf [32]

DMLP Logo


Source URL (modified on 08/20/2014 - 11:09pm): https://www.dmlp.org/threats/south-carolina-v-craigslist

Links
[1] https://www.dmlp.org/threats/south-carolina-v-craigslist
[2] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2009-05-05-South%20Carolina%20AG%20Letter.pdf
[3] http://chicago.craigslist.org/
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Buckmaster
[5] http://blog.craigslist.org/2009/05/sc-ag-mcmaster/
[6] http://blog.craigslist.org/
[7] http://www.scattorneygeneral.org/
[8] http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/5/5/728094/-SC-AG-Threatens-Craigslist-Suit-for-Prostitution,-Graphic-Pornographic-Material
[9] http://www.wect.com/Global/story.asp?S=10305258&nav=menu157_2_2
[10] http://blog.craigslist.org/2009/05/ag-meeting-in-nyc/
[11] http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/05/ags-v-craigslist-put
[12] http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/view.asp?Q=439508&A=3673
[13] http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10234297-93.html
[14] http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/view.asp?A=2341&Q=412348
[15] http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/view.asp?A=2341&Q=427450
[16] http://news.cnet.com/so-carolina-eyes-criminal-investigation-of-craigslist/?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0
[17] http://blog.craigslist.org/2009/05/cl-sues-sc-ag-for-declaratory-relief/
[18] http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/20/craigslist-sues-south-carolina-attorney-general-mcmaster-asks-for-restraining-order/
[19] http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/20/south-carolina-declares-victory-runs-away/
[20] http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/05/sued-by-craigslist-south-carolinas-top-cop-declares-victory-and-goes-home/
[21] https://www.dmlp.org/blog/2009/south-carolina-attorney-general-threatens-craigslist-criminal-prosecution-over-user-conten
[22] https://www.dmlp.org/blog/2009/craigslist-dropping-erotic-services-section-no-word-whether-state-ags-will-drop-their-bull
[23] https://www.dmlp.org/blog/2009/craigslist-sues-south-carolina-ag-over-threats-criminal-prosecution
[24] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2009-05-05-South%20Carolina%20AG%20Letter.pdf
[25] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2008-11-00-Craigslist%20AG%20Agreement.pdf
[26] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2009-05-20-Craigslist%20Complaint%20for%20Declaratory%20Relief.pdf
[27] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2009-05-20-Craigslist%20Exhibits%20A-M.pdf
[28] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2009-05-20-Craigslist%20Motion%20for%20TRO%20and%20PI.pdf
[29] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2009-05-20-Declaration%20of%20E.%20Bart%20Daniel%20in%20Support%20of%20craigslist%20Motion%20for%20TRO.pdf
[30] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2009-05-20-DEclaration%20of%20Jim%20Buckmaster.pdf
[31] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2009-05-20-Declaration%20of%20Joseph%20P.%20Griffith%2C%20Jr.%20in%20Support%20of%20craigslist%20Motion%20for%20TRO.pdf
[32] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2009-05-22-Consent%20TRO%20in%20Craigslist%20v.%20McMaster.pdf